2004-08-06
Good Morning Cherished Readers,
As I promised last week, this message will take a closer look at RO 6: 1-7. This amazing passage helps us to understand why Christ is the only way out of imprisonment to sin. We are aided in looking at God’s perspective on sin, which is very different from the human one. We will also see some important relationships in examining this passage, ones we may not have been aware of before.
We can learn quite a bit from God, through Paul, about those who died in Christ. RO 6: 1-4, “What shall we say, then? Should we continue to live in sins so that God’s grace will increase? Certainly not! We have died to sin-how can we go on living in it? For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with His death. By our baptism, then, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.” It’s helpful to put this passage in context. At the time Paul was delivering these words to the believers, there was a controversy among them between ordinary believers and those who were anti-Nomians. This latter group believed in grace without license, i.e. they can do anything they want because they are under God's grace. Paul needed to convince them of how wrong this interpretation of God’s word was. The concept of being buried with Christ and having the hope of rising to a new life was hard for the believers to grasp, but was given support by Paul’s words in RO 8: 29, in which Christ is described as the “first among many brothers.” The concept of being “one with Christ” is at the heart of the matter. COL 3: 3-4 lends further illumination. “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory."
Let’s look at RO 6: 5-7 now. “For since we have become one with Him in dying as He did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as He was. And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on His cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For when a person dies, he is set free from the power of sin.” The question arose: What happened to the old self when we are united with Christ? RO 6: 6a really addresses itself to that question. It was crucified with Christ! RO 6: 6b shows us that God’s purpose in this is to free us from slavery to sin. Before Christ died on the cross and we repented and came to faith, we had no choice but to sin. Once the Atonement happened, the way was opened for those who repented and came to faith in Christ to be able to make the decision whether or not to sin. Since the body of sin the new believer committed in the past was crucified with Christ, that choice was made possible. I would like to add that once the new believer gets the gift of the Holy Spirit (which out of His grace God gives him when he comes to faith), the believer can gradually open access to his human spirit to the Holy Spirit and will want to yield up leadership of his life to the Holy Spirit. This is a byproduct of the process of sanctification, a process in progress in all believer’s. The more we open ourselves to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, the more mature spiritually the believer becomes. What is the purpose of getting rid of the body of sin we had when we came to Jesus Christ? It is to stop the believers from spending their lives being slaves to sin. Faith in Christ is the only way for this to happen, and that is why John writes in JN 14: 6 [Christ’s speaking], “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man goes to the Father except by Me.”
When I first studied this passage many years ago, it really changed my outlook on my life. I had gone through a very unhappy marriage replete with problems I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. During the first part of that marriage, I didn’t have awareness of God’s presence or His love in my life. Instead, I was mired in the teachings of a cult which have little to do with Biblical truth. I looked for solace in Transcendental Meditation, the group led by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. There was none. I looked for peace by joining self-help organizations promising a better life. It didn’t happen. Everywhere I looked for help, I avoided what is so obvious to me now-our loving Abba. His patience for me during this time in my life is nothing short of miraculous. He stood by and waited for the time when it would dawn on me that He was there, calling me to a personal relationship with Him, inviting me to join Him in His work, eager to bless me with His friendship. Having to work through the problems of my first marriage and its eventual dissolution toughened me and brought me to the place where I could appreciate the blessings the Lord is so eager to give all who believe in Him. RO 8: 28 and JER 29: 11-13 have become special passages to me, because I know now that I can rely on the Lord Who never breaks His promises or lies to any of us.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have told us in RO 3: 23 that “we are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God.” But, then we learn in RO 3: 24-25, “But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with Him through Christ Jesus, Who sets them free. God offered Him, so that by His death He should became the means by which people’s sins are forgiven through their faith in Him.” We are so undeserving of this grace that You so freely give us, and yet, we want to express our gratitude for it and dedication to not waste the great sacrifice You have made with turning to sinfulness again. We must be patient, Dearest Abba, and endure the trials of our sanctification until You deem that we are ready to come to You for eternal life. PS 42: 1-2 comes to mind. “As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for You, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and stand before Him?” Our lives are about Your purposes and not our own. That is why we must give You the time it takes to equip us to serve that purpose. It is not an easy path we must travel, but it is the only one that leads to eternal life. We know that You will stand by us and that the Holy Spirit will alert us when we are starting to sin. Our desire, Dearest Lord, is to stop that sin and confess it to You. Then, we know we will be able to claim the blessings You are so eager to give us. Your mercy is unparalleled. PS 34: 8-9, “See for yourself the way His mercies shower down on all who trust in Him. If you belong to the Lord, have reverence for Him; for everyone who does this has everything he needs.” We must endure pain, hardship, loss, and disappointments in our lives, but we don’t have to endure them alone. You are always there for us, to encourage, direct, lend Your wisdom, protect, provide for, and yes, even rebuke us when we need it. We offer You eternal praise and thanks for all of this. You are the Source of our faith and the Object of our worship. We adore You! In Christ’s holy and strong name, amen.
The Holy Spirit directs me to discuss baptism, hopefully giving His perspective on that ancient and very special rite. While baptism alone doesn’t bring salvation, it is an outward symbol of an inward transformation by the renewal of a believer’s mind [RO 12: 2]. We’ll see what God has to say about it and then see how this applies to our lives. Spring came late to MN this year. We’ve had a lot of rain, and today, the heat and humidity (that isn’t my favorite kind of weather) has come to us. And yet, we can look at the lush grass, the colorful flowers now blooming, the birds and other animals which are so active, knowing that God is at the bottom of all of it. What was under a layer of snow, dormant and seemingly dead has now come alive. That is what God does for us when we repent of our sin and come to obedient, trusting faith. He makes us come alive in Him. Another way He does this is to surround us with other believers who strengthen our faith and give meaning to the Greek word, “koinonea,” which is the supernatural bond He forges between Himself, a believer, and all other believers. Once again, how could I not declare that we are truly a blessed people? It is my hope that each of us can examine the sin in our lives and make progress in ridding ourselves of it. Surely our loving Lord is worth our effort to do this!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn